PT-1 "Humility" (Acts 14:8-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/14/2018 9:26 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-1 “Humility”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 14:8-18

            Message of the verses:  “8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, 10 said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leaped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like men and have come down to us." 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. 16 "In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17 and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." 18 Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.”

            I think that is good from time to time to be reminded that the person who wrote this book of Acts is Dr. Luke, and as you read through his gospel and the book of Acts you can see things from a medical point of view that you do not see in the other gospels.  Luke can also describe a sea voyage very well too, as we will see later on.  Luke describes the medical condition of this man in our verses we are looking at as a man who could not only walk, but a man who has never walked because of his congenitally crippled condition.  I know the word “congenitally” very well as my son was born with different congenitally conditions which required a number of surgeries.

            John MacArthur points out that this man was in a habit of listening to Paul whenever he spoke and the reason we know this is because the imperfect tense of the verb translated “listening” indicates.  So we may conclude that Paul and Barnabas were speaking frequently to the people of Lystra.  Now we know that there was a miracle done here and we know that the Holy Spirit used Paul to understand that this man had the faith to be made well, and we also know that by the healing of this man people there could understand that the message that Paul and Barnabas was telling them must be true.  Another thing I want to look at again is that people today do not have this gift of healing as the apostles and others had in the early church, this is something we have gone over and so I won’t go into details of why this is true, but I do want to quote a number of paragraphs from John MacArthur’s commentary that I feel will be helpful.

“Although today’s believers do not possess miraculous healing power as Paul did, the principle is instructive—God’s power is absolutely necessary if His work is to be accomplished (Eph. 6:10; 1 Peter 4:11).  The power ‘to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think’ (Eph. 3:20) comes to all believers at salvation.  The power of the Holy Spirit is released in believers’ lives as they walk moment by moment in obedience to the truth.  That enables them to be used as agents through whom no physical healing occurs, but rather the transformation of the soul in salvation and sanctification.  

“Along with power and results in service for Christ comes the temptation of pride.  It is often difficult to acknowledge that the results stem from God’s power, not human ingenuity and ability.

“Peter wrote of the centrality of humility in 1 Peter 5:5-6:

‘5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.’

“James echoed those thoughts in James 4:6, 10: ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble…Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.’  Humility is the supreme spiritual virtue because it gives God His rightful place.  Paul’s understanding of the reality of humility is best seen in his words to the Corinthians:

‘9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Cor. 12:9-10).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Humility is the theme of this section of Scripture, and when we look at the life of Paul we see a wonderful example of humility as we have been learning today from the different verses we looked at, especially those in 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul is talking about going to heaven and receiving a thorn in the flesh in order for him to be humble.  Perhaps when we read the end of this chapter we will see the time when Paul was in heaven as it will reveal Paul being stoned.  I suppose that many believers struggle with humility as they are doing things for the Lord, things that I believe that God has planned for them to do (Eph. 2:10), and the Holy Spirit enables them to do in order for God to receive glory.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To remember the things that I do for the Lord are done to give glory to Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Emeralds, sapphire, diamonds” (Exodus 28:15-18).

Today’s Bible question:  “The love of what is the root of all evil?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/14/2018 10:04 AM

PT-4 "Boldness" (Acts 14:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/13/2018 9:23 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-4 “Boldness”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 14:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7  and there they continued to preach the gospel.”

            We begin today’s SD by looking at verse five which tells us that the smoldering opposition to Paul and Barnabas eventually burst into flames as both the Gentiles and the Jews were ready to mistreat them and to stone them.  John MacArthur writes “Attempt translates horme, which literally means ‘a rush’ or ‘an assault.’  The verb form of horme appears in Acts 19:29, where it describes the assault on Paul’s companions by the mob at Ephesus.  No doubt a similar scene of mob violence took place at Iconium. The attempt to stone Paul and Barnabas proves that their Jewish opponents were the instigators.  Stoning was a Jewish form of execution, usually for blasphemy.”

            We look at verse six to see that although Paul and Barnabas were bold but they were not foolish and so they fled for the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe and their surrounding reigons.  We have to believe that there was nothing more that they could do at Iconium and also that Paul would be praying for the believers to be bold and strong for the cause of Christ. 

            John MacArthur quotes F. F. Bruch from his commentary on the book of Acts to show that Paul had made a profound impression during his stay at Iconium.  That impression

“Is reflected in the description of him preserved in the second-century Acts of Paul—a description so vigorous and unconventional that it must surely rest upon a good local tradition of what Paul looked like.  One Onesiphorus, a resident in Iconium, set out to meet Paul, who is on his way to the city.  ‘And he saw Paul approaching, a man small in size, with meeting eyebrows, with a rather large nose, bald-headed, bowlegged, strongly built, full of grace, for at times he looked like a man, and at times he had the face of an angel.’”

MacArthur concludes “As this tradition shows, the believers at Iconium did not think any less of him for his flight.”

            The cities that Paul and Barnabas were headed were in the Roman province of Galatia, and when Paul writes to the Galatians you can see some of the things that happened while Paul was there.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I have been looking at these seven verses for the past four days I can see that the boldness that both Paul and Barnabas experienced came from the Holy Spirit of God yet both of them had to be bold as they were lead by the Spirit to speak the things that He wanted them to speak.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will give me boldness to speak the message of the gospel today, and every day that the Spirit brings people into my lives to hear the gospel.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The palm or handbreadth.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What stones were in the second row of the priest’s breastplate?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/13/2018 9:50 AM

PT-3 "Boldness" (Acts 14:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/12/2018 10:00 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-3 “Boldness”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Reference:  Acts 14:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5  And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.”

            In verse three we see the word “boldly” which is actually the theme that we have been looking at throughout these first three SD’s for these seven verses.  When we look more closely at this verse, as there is a lot packed into verse three we see that Paul and Barnabas were speaking boldly as they relied upon the Lord for strength to be able to speak boldly even though they had many enemies in that city who did not want them there doing what they were doing, and yet while they were their speaking boldly the Lord enabled them to do signs and wonders for the people in that city.  We have talked a lot about sign gifts that were given by the Spirit of the Lord to the apostles and leaders in the early church in order for the church to get started, and I believe that they gradually stopped and once the Scriptures were completed showing people of what they had to do in order to be saved that these sign gifts finished.  John MacArthur writes that “These amazing acts of divine power through them affirmed that they spoke for God.  The designation ‘the word of His grace’ is appropriate, since the message of the gospel is about God’s grace granted to unworthy sinners so that they might be reconciled to Him.  That grace is the heart of the gospel.  Miraculous ‘sings and wonders’ were the confirmation that the message of grace for sinners that Paul and Barnabas spoke was truly from God.”

            Now I want to focus in on verse four where Luke describes both Paul and Barnabas as being apostles.  Now we know that Paul defended his apostleship in his letters to the Corinthians, but we want to find out in what sense was Barnabas an apostle.  The Scriptures gives qualifications for who the apostles were and we know that Barnabas did not qualify as one of the apostles so why would Luke use this word to describe him?  The Scriptures state that the apostles must be eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and also called by Him.  Paul saw the resurrected Jesus Christ as described in Acts chapter nine and was also called by Him in that chapter:  “15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake’ (Acts 9:15-16).  Barnabas qualified on neither of these points that the Scripture speaks of as far as being an apostle.  One more point I want to make here and that after John died there are no more apostles, so if anyone says that they are an apostle of Jesus Christ you know that they are not telling the truth.  John MacArthur writes concerning Barnabas:  “He was commissioned not by Jesus Christ directly, but by the church (cf. 2 Cor. 8:19) He was therefore an apostle only in the general sense of the word.  Because of that, it is best to translate ‘apostles’ here not as an official title but as ‘messengers’ (cf. 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil 2:25).  ‘23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.’ ‘25  But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need.’  The verb apostello, from which apostolos (‘apostle’) derives, means ‘to send.’  Paul and Barnabas were both apostles, or sent ones, of the church at Antioch.  In addition, Paul was officially an apostle of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1, 5; 1 Cor. 1:1; 9:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:1; 1:7; 2 Tim. 1:1, 14; Titus 1:1), and Barnabas, by serving with him, come under the shadow of Paul’s apostolic authority.”

            There are still a lot of things to discuss in this section of Scripture like talking about the opposition they face and eventually having to leave Iconium, and so we will continue looking at these things in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  My thoughts are that in my life I must have more boldness to talk to others about Jesus Christ.  I don’t mean to put a lot of pressure on people or bug them but to be bold in talking to people about the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to give Sandy and I wisdom in helping her day recover from his broken hip.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Obadiah” (1 Kings 18:4).

Today’s Bible question:  “What Hebrew measurement signified the distance from the point of the thumb to the point of the little finger when stretched as far as possible?” 

Answer to this difficult question in our next SD.

3/12/2018 11:03 AM

PT- "Boldness" (Acts 14:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/11/2018 7:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 “Boldness”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 14:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7  and there they continued to preach the gospel.”

            I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that I like the word “therefore” as it is used 904 times in the Bible, that is the NASB.  We see it used in verse three and perhaps at first glance it may seem puzzling.  What this word implies is a logical connection with what precedes it, but as we look at verse two it is difficult to see what the therefore is therefore.  John MacArthur writes that “Because of that, some have argued that verse 2 was not part of the original text of Acts, or that it belongs in another location.  In their view, it interrupts the logical flow of the text from verses 1to 3.  Such a view is shortsighted, however, as John Polhill explains:

‘Verse 3 is a deliberate tension with the preceding and emphasizes the power of the Christian witness and the divine enabling behind it.  Even though there was strong resistance to the Christians (v-2), still they were able to maintain their witness.  The two apostles were not about to back down.  They had the power of the Holy Spirit to speak ‘boldly’ for the Lord (cf. 4:29-31).  Far from being intimidated, they were inspired to even bolder witness.’

“The mounting opposition did not intimidate Paul and Barnabas but energized them to speak out ‘boldly.’  Nor did it deter them from spending ‘a long time’ ministering at Iconium.”

            It is necessary for believers to be bold in their witness about the Lord Jesus Christ, for all believers are living in a world that naturally disagrees with the gospel.  Why is that true?  Well we are all born spiritually dead.  God told Adam and Eve that in the day that they eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would die.  Once they ate of it the immediately died spiritually, and would later die physically.  Because of their sinful act all people who are born are spiritually dead and want nothing to do with God in the way that He wants them to.  Jesus Christ came to make a way of salvation to those who will accept what He did in His death, burial, and resurrection as this was done to pay the price of sin for all those who will realize that they are born sinners and in need of salvation.  Yes the gospel will always be offensive when it is talked about in the way it is supposed to be, the way that Paul and Barnabas witnessed to it in Iconium as we see in Acts 14.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  To be bold in telling the good news of the gospel.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord as I teach about Revelation chapter four this morning in Sunday school class this morning.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Miletum” (2 Timothy 4:20).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who hid 100 prophets in caves and fed them?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/11/2018 7:55 AM

PT-1 "Boldness" (Acts 14:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/10/2018 8:25 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-1 “Boldness”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 14:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5  And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel.”

            Iconium is about eighty miles to the southeast of Pisidian Antioch, and this is where Paul and Barnabas traveled to after being thrown out of Pisidian Antioch, and true to their practice they spoke to the Jews first in the synagogue.  John MacArthur writes that “Iconium was a cultural melting pot—native Phrygians whose ancestors had occupied the area from ancient times, Greeks and Jews who dated to the Seleucid period (312-65 B. B.), and Roman colonists who had arrived more recently.”

            I mentioned that Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue first as it was their custom to do this and also I believe it was what the Lord desired them to do as we mentioned in an earlier SD, but John MacArthur writes that if they had not gone to the synagogue first that they would not be able to go there after speaking to the Gentiles.  I suppose that this had something to do with how the Jews operated, which may have had something to do with their hatred for the Gentiles.

            We see that their message was a success as they “spoke in such a manner that a great multitude believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.”  I have to admit that I am not sure how the Gentiles heard when they spoke in the synagogue.  At any rate their message was probably spoken out of the Old Testament showing that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah of the Jews and also the Gentiles.

            I have highlighted a few words in the Acts 14:1-7 passage at the beginning of the SD, and the two words I want to focus in on are “but” and then “therefore.”  After speaking with success so that people came to Christ we see the word “but” and then the rest of verse two goes on to tell us that the Jews who did not believe caused troubles.  It seems that the word “but” is and will be seen in this manner throughout Paul’s missionary journeys.  John MacArthur writes on the word “disbelieved” that is found in verse two:  “Disbelieved is from apeitheo and could be translated ‘disobeyed.’  The New Testament equates unbelief in the gospel with disobedience (John 3:36; Rom. 2:8; 15:31; Eph. 2:2; 5:6; 2 Thess. 1:8; Titus 3:3; 1 Pet. 4:17), since ‘God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent’ and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30-31).  Those who refuse to do so are disobedient to God’s command.”

            MacArthur goes on to explain about “Embittered translates kakoo, which can mean ‘to poison.’  We can see that this is what happened to some of the people at Iconium as Paul and Barnabas spent a “long time” at Iconium and while there they “spoke boldly with reliance upon the Lord,” yet their enemies were slowly poising the public opinion of who they were and what they were preaching about.  Something happened at Iconium that we see happening in our country and I suppose many countries around the world and is that Christianity gradually polarized the people there and is here too.  If you are a Christian in our nation today and are in a place where the public can see you and know what you believe you will be made fun of and ridiculed.  John MacArthur speaks of this happening in Iconium “That is the expected result when the gospel is properly presented.”  We actually say that in Acts 13:42-52 when we recently studied that section of Scripture.

            We will continue looking at this section in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “The Lord” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Today’s Bible question:  “In what city did Paul leave Trophimus?”  (Hint look in 2 Timothy.)

Answer in our next SD.

3/10/2018 8:58 AM

"Spirit-Giftedness" (Acts 14:1-28)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/9/2018 9:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                    Focus:  Spirit -Giftedness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 14:1-28

            Message of the verses: I have to say that today’s SD is going to be a bit different than most of the ones that I write and the reason is because as I am following the outline of John MacArthur from his commentary on the book of Acts he usually uses a set of verses and then comments on them, but this time he writes about “Spirit-Giftedness” that is seen throughout the entire 14^th chapter of Acts as it is evident throughout the entire chapter.  As we look through this chapter we see Paul and Barnabas using the gifts that the Spirit of God has given to them to minister in the places where they went as described by Luke in this chapter.

            MacArthur writes “A spiritual gift is not a natural human ability or talent but a bestowment by the grace of God on believers that provides a channel through which the Holy Spirit’s power flows in ministry (1 Cor. 12:1 4ff.).”

            I have studied the gifts of the Spirit several times since I became a believer and can say that it is kind of easy to remember where they are located as there are two books that they are located in the 12^th chapters (Romans and 1 Corinthians), and two books that they are located in the 4^th chapters (Ephesians and 1 Peter).  I have also been taught that some of the gifts that are mentioned in these different books were what is called “sign gifts” that is they were gifts that the Spirit of God gave to believers in the early church to get the church established, and once the entire Bible was completed there was no need for these gifts to be given.

            John MacArthur mentions that in chapter 14 there are four gifts mentioned and used by Paul and Barnabas:  First is the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10), which is the Spirit-given ability to proclaim the Word of God with clarity and power.  Acts 14:1 states “1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.”  The next gift we see is teaching (Rom. 12:7).  “22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God’ (Acts 14:22).”  Paul and Barnabas also manifested the gift of exhortation (Rom. 12:8)—the spiritual encouragement that leads the one encouraged to pursue a righteous course of action.  Verse 22 finds them “encouraging the believers to continue in the faith.”Lastly we see the gift of leadership (Rom. 12:8):  MacArthur writes “As part of their duties, Paul and Barnabas ‘appointed elders for them in every church’ (23).  They did not leave their new converts to fend for themselves.  Their leadership gifts enabled them to bring structure to the newly formed congregations and install appropriate leaders.” 

            MacArthur continues “Those four gifts are at the heart of all spiritual ministries in building the church.  They are still vital today for pastor-teachers and evangelists.”

            Effective ministry in the church demands the collective functioning of spiritual gifts as seen in the 12^th chapter of the book of Romans where Paul exhorts the church by writing:

“6  Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7  if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8  or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

            MacArthur concludes:  “It was because Paul and Barnabas had ministered their gifts effectively in their local church (cf. Acts 13:1-3) that God chose them for the challenge of missionary service.  They had proven their faithfulness and were ready for a wider scope of ministry.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that Spiritual Gifts are something that all believers need to know about and to use for the cause of Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Use the gifts that God has given me to bless the church.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Those who hear his teachings and do them” (Matthew 7:24).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/9/2018 10:18 AM 

              

"Intro to Acts 14:1-28"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/8/2018 10:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Acts 14:1-28

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 14:1-28

            Message of the verses:  Now because this introduction will be so short I will put all 28 verses onto this Spiritual Diary.  As we move into the 14^th chapter of Acts I want to say that John MacArthur entitles his fourth chapter from his commentary “Qualities of an Effective Servant of Jesus Christ.”  Just to remind you that we started our study of the 13^th chapter of Acts on the fifth of February and so it took us a little over a month to get through it, something that I found very interesting and informative, and hopefully all who read the Spiritual Diaries on it did too.

“1 In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. 2 But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. 3 Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5  And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, 6  they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; 7  and there they continued to preach the gospel.  8 At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, 10 said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leaped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like men and have come down to us." 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. 16  "In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17  and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." 18 Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.  19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia. 25 When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished. 27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a long time with the disciples.”

            John MacArthur writes:  “Admittedly, this lengthy narrative passage contains no explicit teaching on God’s requirements for effective service.  It does, however present two highly qualified and effective servants who modeled the qualifications necessary for all who would proclaim the good news through the Lord Jesus Christ.  The many diverse and unique features of this inspired record of the further extension of the gospel into the Gentile world can be tied together by focusing on the two constants in the diversity—Paul and Barnabas.  Through the flow of this narrative, these two servants of God manifest examples of seven qualities that make for effective spiritual ministry:  Spirit-giftedness, boldness, humility, persistence, caring, commitment, and reverence.”

            Now as we begin to look at this 14^th chapter of Acts we also see that when we get through with it we will find ourselves right where we started in chapter 13 and that is Antioch where we saw the Holy Spirit give the call for ministry to Paul and Barnabas, thus the end of the first missionary journey.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at what we have studied in chapter thirteen and have read over chapter fourteen what I see is God’s perfect plan being fulfilled as the church of Jesus Christ began to be spread throughout the Gentile world reaching all those who God chose in eternity past and after the message of salvation is preached in these cities the Spirit of God gives and effectual call to those who were called.  I have also seen that many people who have heard the message of the Gospel have said that they do not want anything to do with it and even worse have persecuted those who have been giving it out.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to continue to work in the life of my father-in-law as he is going through some difficult times because of his incident from last Sunday when he broke his hip.  I believe that God is working in his heart.  I don’t want to be like those who were praying for Peter’s release and when God got him out of prison did not believe it.  I have prayed for over 44 years and I do believe that God has worked in his heart a lot in these last few years of his over100 years of being on this earth.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Soul and spirit” (Hebrews 4:12).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who did Jesus say was like the wise man who built his house upon the rock?”

Answer in our next SD.

3/8/2018 11:01 AM